Edgar b



(No Model.)

B. B. STOCKING.

CASH 0R PARCEL CARRIER.

Patented Jan. 29 1889.

UniTnn STATES PATENT Tricia.

EDGAR B. STOCKING, OF TVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CASH OR PARCEL CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent-No. 396,778, dated January 29, 1889.-

' Application filed September 18,1888. Serial No. 285,714. (No model.)

T0 to 207mm. it may concern..-

Be it known that I, EDGAR B. STOCKING, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cash or Parcel Carriers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to cash or parcel carriers; and the object of the invention is to provide a novel means for sending the car which carries the cash-receptacle or parcel-carrier from the station.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will'appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car, track, and propelling devices at an operating and receiving station embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan thereof. Figs. 4-, 5, and 6 are respectively a plan and end elevations of modified arrangements of drivingwhcels and driving-surfaces.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

. A represents the track, which may of any usual construction and supported in any usual manner, and B represents the posthanger or supporting-standard, which also may be of any usual construction.

B represents a guy-rod connected with the hanger or post and serving its usual function.

B is a screw-threaded plug adapted to fit within the lower end of the hanger or post. It is slotted, as at B for the reception of a screw-driver. A button, 13", is arranged upon the plug B and held rotatably and centrally thereon by a pin or lug, B seated in a socket in the upper end of the plug. The button is slotted for the reception of the track A. Now, by turning the plug B the button raised so as to crimp the track within the post, and thus secure the latter from movement lengthwise along the track in either direction.

C represents an arm or bracket, which may be supported by the post in any suitable manner. In this instance a sleeve, 0, is formed on the bracket and bored to fit the post, and a bindingscrew, 0", serves to secure the sleeve and bracket rigidly to the post. The outer end of the bracket 0 is bifurcated, as at C and flared downwardly and outwardly, as at to serve as car-guides. The bifurcation C is for the purpose of receiving the driving wheel D, mounted in bearings 0*, formed in the bifurcations G to receive the journals D of the driving-wheel, one of which journals is extended beyond the bearing, and is provided with a rigidly-secured grooved pulley, E, from whichv the sending cord F extends over a pulley, F, at or near the track supporting hanger, and from thence down to a point within easy access of the salesman or other operator. A latch, G, having an eye, G, through which the cord F passes, may be pivoted, as at G to the bracket, and extend below the same sufficiently to come in contact with the car used in connection with the bracket, so as to lock the car at the station, in a manner hereinafter. described.

H represents the car, and it has .a drivingsuface, H, thereon, upon which the drivingwheel D is adapted to take in such a manner as to communicate motion to the car. The cash or parcel receptacle H? is connected with the car by the rod I1 which is slotted and apertured, as at H", for the reception and passage of the track A. Of the wheels H, which run upon the track, those at the extreme ends of the car may be plain on their peripheries, in contradistinction to the remaining wheels, which are grooved, the object being to facilitate the passage of the car around curves in the track, when such are employed, and at the same to prevent the inclination of the driving-surface at the forward end of the car when motion is imparted thereto by the driving-wheel. As a further precaution against such inclination of the car and driving-surface, there may be provided a supporting-bar, H, connected to the sleeve H and secured to the post B by the screw H said bar being arranged immediately under the track, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig.

1. The earl-I has a notch, H, into which the free end of the latch G is forced by a spring, H when the car has entered the station.

Taking the parts as shown -in Fig. l, the operation of the invention is as follows: A downward pull upon the cord F first acts to depress the upper end of the latch G, so as to lift its free end from connection with the car. In doing this the cord is brought to a straight line from the pulley E to the pulley F. It then rotates the pulley E, which, being fixed to the shaft D of the driving-wheel D, rotates the latter, and this being in contact with the driving-surface ll. of the car, propels the car from the station and along the track A. An incoming car serves by the contact of its driving-surface with the driving-wheel to rewind the cord F upon thepulley E,thus placing the parts in position for a subsequent sending of the car from the station. The latch G, when. eniployed, rides or bears upon the surface II of the incoming car until the notch H is reached, when the latch is thrown by the spring into said notch and an outward rebounding of the car is prevented. To insure a rewinding of the cord, a spring, l, may be secured at I to the bracket C and connected in any suitable manner to the pulley E by the cord 1 or a spring, I", may be socured to an extension of the shaft D at one end and coiled about said shaft and secured at the other end to one of the bifurcations C", as at I", Fig. 3, for the same purpose. These springs are put under tension when the cord F is drawn to propel a car from the station, so that the springs shall serve to rewind the cord. These accessories are not essential or necessary.

Having devised a car provided with a driving-surface and a driving-wheel arranged to come into contact with said surface for the purpose of propelling the car, various modifications in construction and arrangement will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art to which my invention relates. I have illustrated and will proceed to describe a few of the n'lany modified applications of my invention.

The pull or sending cord F may, in addition to its function of simply rotating the drivewheel, also serve to draw said wheel toward the driving-surface. This function is obtained by simply elongating the bearing C", as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 4:, when by reason of the location of the pulley F in a lower plane than the pulley E the object sought is attained. Vith this modification the tracksupporting bar H may be dispensed with, as by any desired degree of extension of the bearings of the driving-wheel an cqually-extensivc inclination or movement of the driving-surface H away from the wheel is rendered possible without nullifying the effects of the driving-wheel upon the surface.

The sagging or yielding of the track is nonimportant, the power of propulsion is greatly increased, and the carsimplified and bettercd in the construction and arrangement illustrated in Figs. at and 5. In this instance the bracket 0 is bifurcated substantially its entire length and terminates in guide-eyes K, for the pull-cord, and the driving-surfaces ll of the car H are arranged on its sides. Sprin I may be used to insure the rewinding ot' the cord, the

seams free endsof the springs bearing upon the ournals D of the driving-wheels D. These driving-wheels may or maynot, desired, be provided with rubber tires D, and rubber may, if desired, be applied to the driving-surfaces, the purpose being to insure a driving-contact. It is also apparent that gearing of any wellknown nature may be employed on the driving-wheel and driving-surface. To give a more forcible bearii'lg of the drivii'ig-wheel upon the driving-surface, the pulling cord or cords may be carried around a pulley or pulleys, F", placed between the driving-wheels and the driving-surface, and from thence to the station. (See dotted lines X, Fig. In this modification it will be seen that the drivin g-wheels serve an additional. function-viz., that ol' car-guides, to insure its entrance between the wheels, so that the downward and outward bifurcations of the bracket are not necessarily employed. Still, to preserve the peripheries of the driving-wheels from injury, such guides 0 or other similar guides, may be employed.

In Fig. 0 I have illustrated still another modified construction, which involves the car I], having a driving-surface, II, on each side thereof, and the driving-wheel D is duplicated and the pulling-cord is arranged between the wheels D. This is an advantageous form, as the entire weight of the car is, like in the modifications illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, located below the track. As shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, another wheel or wheels, D, maybe ar 'anged beneath the car, so as to take bearing 011 the under side of the surface or surfaces H. In this instance the bifurcation C is extended downwardly, to form a bearing for the lower wheel or wheels, and these are provided with cord-pulleys E.

1 do not limit my invention to any particular means for giving motion to the driving wheel or wheels employed. This may be accomplished in various ways other than that yet described. For example, the drivingwheel D may be continuously or intermittently rotated by the belt J, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) runnin in connection with the pulley E. If motion imparted by the belt J to the wheel. D is to be intermittent, a belt-tightener, J, may serve to give that motion. If the motion imparted by the belt J is to be continuous, then the cord F would be connected with the journal D and serve simply the function of drawing the wheel D down into contact with the driving-surface H of the car; nor is my invention limited to the individual or relative proportions of the parts shown and described. The driving-wheels may be larger or smaller ii'ldividually or in proportion to the cord-pulleys, as shown herein, and said cordpulleys may be varied in. proportion to the drive-wheels. So, also, the driving-surface may be either plain or curved, the latter giving the well-known rcsultmore frictional surface in proportion to the width of the driving-surface. In such case the periphery oi the driving-wheel would correspond in cross-seetion to the surface of the drivingsurface, and the length of the latter may be increased or diminished, as desired.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a cash or parcel carrier, a car provided with a driving-surface, in combination with a driving-wheel adapted to take upon the drivin g-surface, substantially as specified.

2. In a cash or parcel. carrier, a car provided with a (iliVi11P'-S11IfLCG, in combination with a driving-wheel adapted to take upon the driving-surface and with means for giving; motion to the drivingqvheol, substantially as specified.

3:3. A car having oppositely-arranged driving-surfaces in combination with drivingwheels arranged to bear upon the opposite driving-surfaces, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of a track, a supportin g post or standard at the station, a carpro vided with a driving-surface, a driving-wheel mounted on a bracket, and a cord operatively connected with the drive-wheel and extend ing therefrom to a point of access, substantially as specified.

5. The eon'ibinatimi of a track, a car having a driving-surface thereon, a drive-wheel, a bracket provided with elongated bearings for the journals of said drive-wheel, and means for moving the wheel toward the driving-surface and for operating" said wheel, substantially as specified.

G. The combination of a bracket provided with elongated bearings, a driving -wheel mounted in said bearings, and a car provided with a driving-suriacc, substantially as spccilied.

7. The combination of a car having driving-surfaces, a bifurcated bracket having elongated bearings, driving-wheel.s, pulleys connectedtherewith, an d cords extending from 

